A tree grown from a seed that's been to the moon and back is now at a DeLand school

DELAND — Other than those who work for NASA, how many people can stand every day in the presence of something that's been to outer space?

The 240 students at St. Peter Catholic School in DeLand can.

Their school was selected as one of only 50 nationwide – and one of just two schools in Florida – to receive a rare "Moon Tree" seedling that comes from a seed that traveled on a rocket ship for four weeks.

A group of seven girls got the honors of planting the tiny seedling on their school property at the end of May.

"We did a ceremony with all the students and told them they're a part of history," said school Principal Charlotte Funston, who oversees a student body with kids from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. "We want our students to dream, to want something to work toward. Having this is a symbol of what can be accomplished by mankind."

The special tree, a loblolly pine, was part of a NASA program that centered on seedlings grown from seeds that had been to the Moon and back.

In 2022, the seeds journeyed 270,000 miles aboard Artemis I on its journey to the Moon. It was a 25-day trip, farther than any spacecraft made for humans has ever gone.

Each Moon Tree seedling began as one of more than 1,000 seeds that NASA sent into space. Upon their return to Earth, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service meticulously oversaw their germination and growth.

NASA did something similar with tree seeds with the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.

The selection process to receive one of the seedlings was highly competitive, with more than 2,000 applications submitted from organizations across the country.

St. Peter Catholic School leaders have said they're honored to have been chosen to receive the symbol of exploration and growth.

It was particularly meaningful for Funston, whose father was a NASA engineer who worked on Apollo missions in the 1960s in Alabama. Funston wore her late father's NASA lab coat at the May 29 tree planting.

She said it was planted away from areas where kids play so it won't be damaged.

"We have it protected now," she said.

Eventually a bench and memorial plaque will be placed next to the fledgling tree, Funston said.

First the tiny tree, which is about 18 inches tall, needs to establish roots and get bigger and stronger.

"It looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree," she said.

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"We learn about history in the classroom, but today you're living history," Funston told her students gathered on May 29 to watch the tree planting. "This tree is going to be here for hundreds of years, generations to come, and you're part of that today."

Loblollies live between 100 and 300 years. Funston sees it as an appropriate legacy, especially since Bishop John Noonan is not only bishop of the Diocese of Orlando, but also "bishop of the moon" since his diocese includes Cape Canaveral.

"We're all part of the tree of life, and the moon is part of our life, too," Noonan said. "I am so blessed to have it as part of our diocese."

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: A tree grown from a seed that's been to the moon and back is now at a DeLand school